Rodent Control Tips for Dallas Area Homeowners
Winter gives Dallas residents some much-needed respite from the brutal heat of summer time, but cooler temperatures invite rodent issues that need to be proactively addressed. After all, rats, mice and other rodents are just as interested in surviving the winter as you are, so it makes sense for them to seek out a warm, dry shelter such as your attic or interior walls. Fortunately, there are some steps that you can take to prevent rodent wintering from becoming a problem on your property.
How Can I Protect My Home?
The first thing that you need to do is inspect your property for any holes or gaps that’ll invite rodents to move into your house for the winter. This inspection needs to include the entire exterior of your home, your closets, drains, cabinets and all areas where your walls and floors join together. Make sure that you don’t forget about your attic and crawl spaces, and pay close attention to areas that you don’t usually see such as the space behind your appliances and cabinets. Many people make the mistake of believing that creatures such as mice will need a hole as large as their body in order to enter the house. The truth is that mice are able to squeeze and contort their bodies in order to slip inside a hole that is no bigger than a nickel. With this in mind, you need to be extremely thorough and fill up any gaps or holes that you discover. Taking care of this now will be the best way to avoid accidentally sealing up the rodents inside your house.
Additional Preventative Measures
A lot of people in the Dallas area enjoy feeding birds, especially during the winter. Sadly, this can attract the attention of rodents, so you need to take precautions to enable you to provide a steady food source for birds without developing a rodent infestation; this can be easily achieved by placing a tray underneath your bird feeder and utilizing sunflower chips as your sole offering. Place your feeder as high up in a tree or on a pole as possible. Taking these steps will prevent rats from being attracted to your property, especially if you use a tray to keep seeds and bird waste from accumulating on the ground. Also make sure that you keep your property free of any possible nesting materials and debris, including logs, thick vegetation, rocks and wood piles.
Following these tips can help you drastically reduce your odds of a rodent infestation. However, if rodents do get inside your Dallas area home or if you need preventative assistance, contact us at ABC Home & Commercial Services. An experienced pest control specialist can offer effective suggestions for any issue you may have with rodents.